Maui home prices recover from 5-year decline

Home prices have climbed back out of a valley on the Valley Isle.

Median sale prices for homes on Maui rose significantly last year to end a downward slide that had lasted four to five years, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Realtors Association of Maui.

Single-family homes sold for a median $470,000 last year, up 9 percent from $432,500 the year before. The gain followed five years of declines after the median price peaked at $690,000 in 2006.

Condominiums sold for a median $358,995 last year, up 16 percent from $310,000 a year earlier. The surge followed four years of declines after the median price peaked at $550,000 in 2007.

The depth and breadth of Maui’s housing market downturn and rebound were within the range of market movements on Hawaii island and Kauai where higher proportions of vacation homes also contributed to more dramatic and longer declines in prices compared with Oahu.

Home sales data for 2012 on Hawaii island, Kauai and Oahu were reported Tuesday.

Maui had the distinction in 2006 of setting the highest median price for single-family homes among the major islands. Oahu’s median price dropped far less, though, than the neighbor islands and last year was $620,000 — not far from its peak of $643,500 in 2007.

One caveat in comparing median prices among the islands is different methodology used by separate Realtor associations that collect sales data. On Maui the data include sales of previously owned homes as well as new homes. On Oahu the data are limited to previously owned homes.

Low interest rates and a recovering economy have largely fueled the rebound in Hawaii home prices and buyer demand.

Last year there were 933 sales of Maui single-family homes, up 4 percent from 901 the year before. There were 1,248 condo sales, up 8 percent from 1,157 in the same period.

The sales volume averages to about 80 single-family homes and 100 condos per month.

In December, 82 single-family homes sold for a median $511,750 compared with 79 homes for a median $411,000 in the same month the year before.

There were 138 condo sales for a median $382,450 in December compared with 89 sales for a median $304,000 a year earlier.